School Blog

Whole School Maths Initiative

Posted: 2nd October 2014

The new year at Skippers brings a new drive in Mathematics to create confident and capable learners of number, shape and algebra. The sound of the pre-recorded questions flowed from the classrooms from 'Crocodile Lady', the children’s affectionate name for the narrator, as teachers guided their classes through the 20 minutes of questions.

The whole school is part of the initiative, with Years 1 to 6 tackling the test first thing on Friday morning and Years 7 and 8 on Wednesday. Children have 5, 10 or 20 seconds to answer an age/level specific question of increasing challenge week by week. Whilst the initiative may have the title, Mental Maths Tests, there is a far greater value than a summative test. Each assessment is reviewed with the Maths teacher and student so that performance can be reflected on and future learning planned. A picture will build as the year progresses with additional focus being placed on the personal learning areas.